Veterans Robbie Speers and Sanjay Patel scored unbeaten half-centuries as McDonald’s Lansdowne cruised to an easy win over the Rathkeale 2XI in the first round of Wairarapa Cricket’s Bidwill Cup on Saturday.
Rathkeale overcame a slow start to score a reasonable 155 after being put into bat on the superbly prepared Rathkeale No. 1 pitch.
The students top order initially struggled against some accurate Lansdowne bowling, and looked in dire trouble at 80-6, before a 62-run seventh-wicket partnership between Andrew Taylor [44] and Louis Oliver [19] added some respectability to their scoreboard.
Taylor’s innings was one of aggression and good luck. The talented middle order batter was fortunate not to have been stumped on three occasions, only to be saved by inept wicketkeeping. His 44 runs came from 43 balls and featured three fours and one six.
Lansdowne had 48 overs to chase down the total, but they only needed 26 overs to secure the victory and the maximum 10 points and take the early lead in the championship.
Talented Wairarapa College all-rounder Samuel Payne gave the innings the perfect start smashing 31 runs off 19 balls, including three fours and two sixes, the first of which was his opening scoring shot off the second ball he faced.
However, it was the old-timers Patel and Speers who stole the show.
Patel opened the innings and batted through to finish 50no [69 balls, six fours], while Speers was all aggression in his 58no from 48 balls, including eight fours and two sixes.
Robbie Anderson scored the first century of the season, but his Burger King Red Star side had to settle for a winning draw over Inspire Living Greytown at Memorial Park, Greytown.
The left hander batted through the innings and was the last batter to fall with his score on 100, and Red Star’s total 196. Anderson faced 155 balls and hit nine fours and two sixes in his impressive innings on the pitch that was two-paced and provided variable bounce.
He had good support from fellow Wairarapa representative Nathan Elliott, who scored 44, as the pair added 95 runs for the third wicket.
Greytown medium pacer Kirk Saunders found the tricky pitch to his liking, and proved a handful for the Red Star batters, taking seven wickets for 33 runs off nine accurate overs, with five of his victims either bowled or LBW.
Left with 47 overs to bat, Greytown showed little intent to chase down the 197 for an outright victory, and finished 145-6, with ‘Tora’ Boyne the best of the batters at 32no.
Red Star take the points for a winning draw, and Greytown pick up the points for the losing draw.
BRIEF SCORES
Rathkeale 2X1 155 [Andrew Taylor 44, Xavier Cook 32; Regan Fricker 3-33, Sanjay Patel 2-29] lost outright to McDonalds Lansdowne 156-3 [Robbie Speers 58no, Patel 50no, Samuel Payne 31] by seven wickets
Burger King Red Star 196 [Robbie Anderson 100, Nathan Elliott 44; Kirk Saunders 7-33] winning draw over Inspire Living Greytown 145-6 [‘Tora’ Boyne 32no; James Church 2-38]
